His initial rise to stardom occurred under tutelage of producer's Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International in 1970. The Blue Notes had hits such as "I Miss You," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody," the two million seller "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and many more. Following personality conflicts between Melvin and Pendergrass, Pendergrass launched a solo career and released hit singles like "The More I Get the More I Want," "Close the Door," "I Don't Love You Anymore," "Turn Off the Lights" and others.
His first solo album was self titled Teddy Pendergrass (1977), followed by Life is a Song Worth Singing (1978), Live! Coast to Coast and Teddy (1979), 1980's TP and the final Philadelphia International Records album It's Time for Love (1981). He also sang a duet with Whitney Houston on "Hold Me," from her self-titled debut album.
Teddy Pendergrass started singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, becoming an ordained minister at ten years old. While attending public school, he sang in the citywide McIntyre Elementary School Choir and in the All-City Stetson Junior High School Choir. A self-taught drummer, Pendergrass had a teen pop vocal group when he was 15.
By his late teens, Pendergrass was a drummer for local vocal group the Cadillacs. In the late 60s, the Cadillacs merged with another more-established group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. In 1970, when the Blue Notes broke up, Melvin, now aware of Pendergrass' vocal prowess, asked him to take the lead singer spot. It's no secret that Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff wanted Marvin Junior of the Dells for their Philadelphia International Records roster. Since the Dells were signed to Chess, they were unavailable. When the gruff'n'ready vocals of Pendergrass came their way, they eagerly signed the group.
Beginning with "I Miss You," a steady stream of hit singles flowed from the collaboration of Pendergrass and Gamble & Huff: "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "The Love I Lost," "Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody" (#1 R&B for two weeks in 1976), and two gold albums, To Be True and Wake Up Everybody.
Unfortunately, the more success the group had, the more friction developed between Melvin and Pendergrass. Despite the revised billing of the group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass, Pendergrass felt that he wasn't getting enough recognition. Around 1976, Pendergrass left Melvin's Blue Notes and formed his own Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendergrass. Briefly, there was some confusion as to which Blue Notes was which. The resolution came when Pendergrass disbanded his Blue Notes in favor of a solo career and Melvin's group signed a recording contract with Source Records, distributed through ABC Records, scoring a hit with "I Want to Be Your Lover."
Pendergrass signed a new contract with Philadelphia International Records sometime between late 1976 and early 1977. He burst back on the scene with Teddy Pendergrass, a platinum solo debut that included the top-notch singles "I Don't Love You Anymore," "You Can't Hide From Yourself," and "The More I Get the More I Want." Around this time, Pendergrass began to institute his infamous "Ladies Only" concerts. His next three albums went gold or platinum: Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Teddy, and Live! Coast to Coast. The hit single "Close the Door" was used in the film Soup for One, where Pendergrass had a minor role.
The singer received several Grammy nominations during 1977 and 1978, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. He was also in consideration for the lead in the movie biopic The Otis Redding Story. The '70s ended, but Pendergrass kept racking up the hits. TP, his fifth solo album, went platinum in the summer of 1980 off the singles "Turn Off the Lights," "Come Go With Me," "Shout and Scream," "It's You I Love," and "Can't We Try." It's Time for Love gave Pendergrass another gold album in summer 1981, which included the hit singles "Love TKO" and "I Can't Live Without Your Love." However in the UK chart success was limited to a handful of singles peaking just short of the top 40. Amazingly "Love TKO" failed to even grace the top 100.
A 1982 car accident left Pendergrass paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound. After almost a year of physical therapy and counseling, Pendergrass returned to the recording scene, signing a contract with Elektra/Asylum in 1983. His ninth solo album, his Elektra/Asylum debut, Love Language went gold the spring of 1984. Philadelphia International issued two albums of unreleased tracks, This One's for You (1982) and Heaven Only Knows (1983). Other albums included Workin' It Back (1985), Joy (1988, whose title track stayed at #1 in the R&B charts for two weeks), and A Little More Magic (1993). The latter half of '90s found Pendergrass recording for the Surefire/Wind Up label. Truly Blessed (the name of an 1991 Elektra album) is the title of the autobiography Pendergrass co-authored with Patricia Romanowski.
Pendergrass passed away at age 59 on January 13, 2010 from complications following surgery for colon cancer.
And If I Had
Teddy Pendergrass Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone that loved me
And if I had
Someone to really care
I would be
The best lover
That they ever had
Love me babe
Yes I do, yeah
And if I had
Just one silly babe
And if I had
Someone to chase my blues away
I would be
I would be
I would be the luckiest man
In the whole wide world
'Cause I need somebody to love me
Love me babe
See I need to lose
This empty feeling
I need to stop
I need someone to stop these endless nights
I need someone to hold
To hold real tight
Someone to love me
If I only had
If I only had
Someone to love me
Said if I only had
If I only had
See, I need, I need, I need, I need
Oh, yes I do
I need real bad
I need somebody, someone to love me
Someone that I could love
See I need somebody
I need somebody
Oh, yes I do
In the middle of the night
When I'm by myself
Somebody all day long
Someone to love me
Someone to hold real tight
The lyrics of Teddy Pendergrass's song "And If I Had" express the singer's longing for love and companionship. He imagines how he would be the best lover he could be if he had someone to truly love him and cares for him. He wants someone to chase his blues away and hold him tight in the middle of the night. The lyrics highlight the loneliness and emptiness he is feeling, as he sings that he needs someone to stop these endless nights. Through the repetition of "I need somebody to love me," the song emphasizes the singer's desire for love and human connection, suggesting that without it, life can feel meaningless and unfulfilling.
Line by Line Meaning
And if I had
If I had the love of someone special in my life
Someone that loved me
If I had someone who would truly love me for who I am
And if I had
If I had another person to share my life with
Someone to really care
If I had someone who genuinely cared for me
I would be
I would become
The best lover
The most affectionate and loving partner
That they ever had
That my partner had ever experienced
'Cause I need somebody to love me
Because I crave the warmth and affection of a loving partner
Love me babe
Love me endearingly
Yes I do, yeah
Yes, I really do
And if I had
If I could find
Just one silly babe
One playful and affectionate partner
And if I had
If I could be with
Someone to chase my blues away
Someone who could make me happy and forget my worries
I would be
I would feel
I would be
I would feel
I would be the luckiest man
I would feel incredibly fortunate
In the whole wide world
More fortunate than anyone
'Cause I need somebody to love me
Because I yearn for a caring and loving partner
Love me babe
Love me ardently
See I need to lose
I need to abandon
This empty feeling
This sense of loneliness and unfulfillment
I need to stop
I need to put an end to
I need someone to stop these endless nights
I need someone who could help me overcome my insomnia and endless nights of loneliness
I need someone to hold
I need someone who I could embrace and hold tightly
To hold real tight
To share a tight embrace with
Someone to love me
Someone who loves me for who I am
If I only had
If I could find
If I only had
If I was fortunate enough to have
See, I need, I need, I need, I need
I truly yearn for
Oh, yes I do
I certainly do
I need real bad
I desperately need it
I need somebody, someone to love me
I need someone who genuinely loves me for who I am
Someone that I could love
Someone who I could reciprocate their affection
See I need somebody
I need someone to share my life with
I need somebody
I need someone who is kind, loving, and caring
Oh, yes I do
Yes, I really do need it
In the middle of the night
During the loneliest hours
When I'm by myself
When I am alone
Somebody all day long
Someone who stays by my side all day long
Someone to love me
Someone who wholeheartedly loves me unconditionally
Someone to hold real tight
Someone for me to embrace and hold tightly
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Leon Huff, Kenneth Gamble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Niyazi Ömer Usta
And if I had someone to love me
And if I had someone who really cared
I would be the best lover that they ever had
Cause I need somebody to love me, love back, yes I do
And if I had one sunny day
And if I had someone to chase my blues away
I would be, I would be the luckiest man
In the whole wide world...
Cause I need somebody to love me, love be back
See I need to lose I need to lose this empty feeling
(This empty feeling)
Someone to start to need somebody to stop to stop these endless nights
I need some to love (would hold me) and hold real tight (would hold me)
Somebody to love me (would home me, would hold me, hold me, hold) hey...
Somebody just to love me
If I only had if I only had someone that, uh
I need I need somebody (just to hold my hand) somebody somebody
doitall36
And if I had someone to love me
And if I had someone who really cared
I would be the best lover that they ever had
Cause I need somebody to love me, love back, yes I do
And if I had one sunny day
And if I had someone to chase my blues away
I would be, I would be the luckiest man
In the whole wide world...
Cause I need somebody to love me, love be back
See I need to lose I need to lose this empty feeling
(This empty feeling)
Someone to start to need somebody to stop to stop these endless nights
I need some to love (would hold me) and hold real tight (would hold me)
Somebody to love me (would home me, would hold me, hold me, hold) hey...
Somebody just to love me
If I only had if I only had someone that, uh
I need I need somebody (just to hold my hand) somebody somebody
Linda Pritchette
This song "If I had" is a masterpiece, sung by Teddy who is the best singer ever.
Antoinette Brown
Teddy p
DARRYL PHILLIPS
It was originally a Blue Notes.song they never released it
Hilda T
It is a masterpiece. But it is a duet. This is Teddy and Harold Melvin singing. Harold sings the first part, then Teddy sings the second. If course they just go at it in what is probably the greatest duet of all time! I love Teddy but people should not overlook Harold 's part in the beauty and majesty of this song.
Michael Robinson
Yes I agree. Best ever
Derrick Mcneal
And if I had is Teddy single song that got the least radio air time but in my opinion is one of his greatest hit that should have received notice to his fans along time ago.
faithful31us
@DARRYL PHILLIPS wow didn't know that was Harold Melvin and the blue notes
DARRYL PHILLIPS
@Wolf Williams I think the reason was from the rumor I heard this song was originally a Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes song they never released it you can hear them in the background singing Teddy couldn't release it as his song.
faithful31us
I loved this song as a little girl. I remember putting my mother 33s on and enjoying this actual whole album. Very rare to do that
Gregory ziegler
100% agree!!